The Unbending Truth

Imagine you and a friend hiking a forest trail. You come to a crossroads and two signs await: Head North and you will reach the exit safely. Head South and certain danger awaits.

The choice seems straightforward, so you both pull out a compass. After orienting yourselves it is clear that both compasses are pointing left. Unequivocally, the North side of each compass directs toward the safe path. But your friend has a thought:

“I really feel like North is to the right. I know these compasses are pointing the opposite way, and we have no reason to think they are faulty, but my gut says differently.”

Quite the conundrum. You look again at the signs marking the path, maybe even strain to see as far as possible in either direction. They appear similar, but there’s no way to know what lies ahead.

You plead with your friend, “I really think we should trust our compasses. They both agree on what ‘North’ is, and frankly my gut doesn’t matter. We need to head North according to the compass.”

But your friend persists, “I know what the compasses say, but I deeply feel like North is the opposite direction. So much so that I’m going to follow the sign that says South. I think it’s wrong too.”

What would you do? Frankly, no matter how much I trust and care for this friend, given the matter of life and death, I would choose to follow truth. Not the truth I feel is right, but what all signs and compasses proclaim to be true.

In this scenario, there is no such thing as ”your truth”. One path leads truly North, and the other does not. You can’t traverse opposing directions and expect to end up in the same place.

Maybe you have heard something similar in our culture. That belief is fine for you, that religion is true for you, but not for me. The idea that earnestness is the measure of truth, not reality.

But I am here to tell you that truth is indifferent to your opinion or your conviction. Truth does not bend to your feeling nor does it change based on preference. Truth stands alone, unchanging, unrelenting, and uncompromising.

We may disagree about what is true, but that does not change reality. In the end, one of those paths will end in destruction. We would be wise to look at all the signs, read all the evidence, and realize in the end that our feelings must take a back seat to the truth.